Motor-vehicle.



Patented luly'9, I901.

3 Sheets-Sheet I.

B THAYEB MOTOR VEHICLE.

(No Model Application filed Feb 9, 1901 I INVENTQB-z' NUNRN I WITNESSES?! I l 26m 7 No. 678,063. Patented July 9, |90|..

n. THAYER.

MOTOR VEHICEE.

(Application filed Feb, 9, 1901.)

3 Sheet sSheet '1.

(No Model.)

. WENRN INVENTQR:

HIS mans no} nmnnm. wwimuron, o. c.

No. 678,063. I Pat e ntedluly 9, |9oi.

B. THAYER.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

. (Application filed Feb. 9, 1901. (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

FIG. 6'.

WITNESSES: I iNVENTOR:

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RUSSELL THAYER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

MOTO R-VE'H ICLE.

srncrrrcarrou fem-15g part of Letters Patent No. 678,063, dated July 9, 1901.

v Applicationfiled February 9, 1901. Serial No. 46,609. (Ndmodeh) T0 aZZ whom, zit may concern:

Beitknown that I, RUssELLTHAYER, acitizen' of the United States, residing at Chestnut Hill, in the city and countyof Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in M0- tor-Vehicles, whereof the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

The purpose of my invention is to permit the ready combination of an ordinary road vehicle with an independent motor-driven carriage of relatively smallsize,'the organization of the respective parts being suchthat by the mere detachment of the shafts or tongue of the road-vehicle the motor-carriage. may be connected with the front axle of said vehicle and vbe controlled by a person riding in the vehicle just as a horse could be driven therefrom. a

I am aware that heretofore it has been proposed to remove the front axle and wheels of a carriage and to substitute for them a tractor truck placed beneath the front portion of the carriage-bod y, said truck directly supporting that end of the body. Such an arrangement, however, either necessitates the construction of a special carriage-body adapted to be thus,

directly supported upon a truck, or else, if an ordinary carriage be used, requires the relatively elaborate operation of removing the front axles and wheels and replacing them by the truck. The mechanical differences between such an arrangement and one embodyingmypresentinventionwillbe manifest from the following description but from the practical standpoint an essential difference is that by the employment of my invention a person may keep in his carriage-house one or more.

ordinary road-Vehicles and may have a me= chanical motor therefor which is, so to speak, interchangeable with his horses, since it may be applied to any one of the vehicles with as little expenditure of time and labor as would be required for the harnessing of a horse.

Referring to the drawings which accompany the specification, Figure 1 is, a side elevation of an ordinary one-seat wagon or buggy having aumotor-carriage connected therewith in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a topv or plan view thereof, certain portions adjacent to the carriage-bod y being indicated in hori tious of the motomcontrolling device.

zontal section. steering-wheels for the motor-carriage, showing in vertical section their pivotal connections with the carriage. Fig. 4. is a transverse section through the bottom of the carriagebody on the line 4 4. of Fig. 2, showingthe position of certain portions of the motor-controlling mechanism. Fig. 5 is a side view of por- Fig. 6 is a view in side elevation of an ordinary express wagon having my invention applied thereto.

Referring to the type of organization shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, the wagon-body is represented at A and is supported at its front end in the usual way bymeans of a fifthqvheel a, mounted upon the front axle 79, having wheels B, the rear end of the carriage-body being supported upon the rear axle b, having Wheels B. The motor-carriage is indicated conventionally at E and is shown as provided with a main driving-shaft F, to which in this instance the driving-wheels F are rigidly attached. Any other form of driving mechanism may, however, be substituted for that shown. r

The motor of course may be of any pre- -ferred ty'pe, and as my invention has no relation to the internal construction thereof I 'do not deem it necessary to advert to any details beyond the fact that the motor mechanism is controllable by the longitudinal shift ing of a bar whose general construction will be hereinafter described.

At the rear end of the motor-carriage E is a trail, comprising two converging arms 0 O and an intermediate arm 0 connected with the body'ot' the motor-carriage E at a higher level than the arms 0 G and curved downwardly, so as to unite with said arms at their point of convergence. A vertical socket or bearing (3 (see-Fig. 3) is provided at said point of convergence, (which is the rear end' of the trail,) and within, said socket a vertical pivot-stem d is rotatably'mounted. Said pivot-stem (1 projects upwardly from a bearing-plate at, whose upper face corresponds to the proximate face on the underside of the trail, so as to afford an extended bearing-surface for the parts thus rotatively connected.

A socket d projects downward from the vcenter of the bearing-plate d, the cavity of said Fig. 3 is a detail view of the too socket being of angular cross-section, and at the lower end of the socket d are two lateral extensions d d", beneath which, respectively, are springs 61 d Said springs are supported upon the axle D, which carries a pair of steering-wheels D D rotatively mounted thereon.

At the longitudinal center of said axle is rigidly mounted an upwardly-projecting stem D whose angular cross-section conforms to that of the cavity of the socket d of the bearing-plate 61, so that said stem will engage rotatively with said bearing-plate, but will be; capable of free longitudinal movement in a A lateral lever-arm d is rigidly attached to the bearing-plate 01', said vertical direction.

lever-arm being pivotally connected at its outer extremity with a link (Z which runs be rotated in one direction or the other in a:

horizontal plane and by said rotation the axle D (which maybe termed the steering-axle) will be turned in one direction or the other,

so that the wheels D D will operate 'to steer the motor'carriage.

is of such a character as to not only permit the shifting of the steering-axle, but also to accommodate itself to the position of the trail when the motor-carriage is turned with relalion to the carriage-body.

The vertical shaft G is detachablyconneeted and mounted, so as to be readily removable from the carriage-body, in order that when the vehicle is to be used with a horse the shaft and handle should not be in the way of the occupant.

The motor-carriage is connected to the ve- 3 hicle in the instance shown by means of a pair of arms H H, arranged at a suitable .angle, as indicated, and provided at their point of union with an eye H through which passes a vertical bolt H mounted in a socket f-I upon the central arm C of the trail. At

a short radial distance from the point of union 1 of the arms a sector H ext-ends between them, said sector resting upon a semicircular bearing-plate O, which is supported upon the trail, so as to form a fifth-wheel bearing around the pivotal connection formed by the bolt H The arms H H are provided at their rear extremities with eyes, whose openings are in a horizontal direction, and the proportions of the parts are such as to permit the ends of the arms to be readily connected with the front axle b of the vehicle by direct insertion between the shaft-lugs I, whose bolts '5 pass through said eyes. The purpose of this method of construction is of course to permit said arms to be applied in place of the shafts or tongue of an ordinary vehicle; but, if de- The controlling mech anism of the steering-axle, it will be noted, 1

sired, the arms may be differently propor tioned and otherwise attached to said front axle. In the instance shown a pair of such arms is employed; but obviously these may be considered as a single member or element, and hence Ishall use the comprehensive term draw-bar to indicate the part or parts whereby the front axle of the vehicle is conv nected to the motor-carriage.

Control of the motor mechanism is effected by the longitudinal movement of a bar J, which extends into the rear of the motor-carriage at or near the center thereof. Said bar is pivotally attached atj to a link J, whose opposite extremity is pivotally attached at j to a bar J running rearwardly through the guide-bracketj beneath the carriage-body to a point beneath the hanger J the portion of the bar adjacent to the vertical shaft G being formed with a lateral offset, as shown at 9' inorder to avoid interference. The end of said bar J is connected (see Fig. 4) to a short lever 7c, rigidly attached to a rock-shaft K, mounted in the hangers J J and extending out beyond the side of the carriage-body, where it is provided with a shifting lever K,

conveniently placed to be operable from the seat of the vehicle. By throwing said lever K in one direction or the other the motor may be started, stopped, or reversed, as is well understood.

In Fig. 6 I have illustrated the embodiment of my improvement in connection with an ordinary express or delivery wagon. In said drawing, L represents the body of the wagon,

L the rear Wheel, and L the front wheel there-- of.

The front axle Z is pivotally connected with the body in the usual manner, and to said axle are attached the two members of the draw-bar M, which is pivoted at m to the trail m of the motor-carriage N. In the instance shown the central portion of the trail I is raised but little above the side arms thereof. The arrangement of the steering and motor controlling devices is substantially similar tojthat heretofore specified, and therefore repeated description of those parts is not deemed essential. The shifting lever O for the motor-controlling device may, however, be conveniently brought up through a slot in the floorof the wagon-body, as indicated, and the other parts should of course be proportioned in accordance with the differences in the dimensions of the runninggear in a wagon of this character.

It is not deemed necessary to describe the actual operation of the foregoing devices beyond the statement that in the steering of the Vehicle the steering-wheels primarilyand directly control the movement of the motor-carriage in one dirction or the other and that as said carriage turns (which it can do easily by reason of its pivotal connection with the drawbar) it will turn the front axle of the vehicle, the tendency of the parts being to track without scraping or undue lateral friction.

It will be observed that there are two main respectively, at the fifth-wheel a of the carpivotal points and what maybe termed a subsidiary pivotal point in the combined structure. The main pivotal points are situated,

riage-body and at the fifth-wheel where the draw-bar is connected to the motor-carriage. The subsidiary pivotal point is situated at the stem 01 or vertical axis, upon which the steering-axle is turned in a horizontal plane. The purpose of providing these pivotal points is to permit the proper cooperation of the steering apparatus without undue lateral friction or resistance and the ready control of direction from the body of the vehicle. In the organization shown the subsidiary point is located away from both of the other two; but this is merely a matter of convenient structural arrangement, since, theoretically, the subsidiary pivotal point might coincide in the location of its axis with either one of the other two, provided independence of action is preserved.

Having thus described my invention, I desire it to be understood that I do not claim, broadly, the combination of a motor-carriage withavehicle. On the otherhand,lalso desire to state that while-I have described and shown what I believe to be the most convenient structural organization adapted to embody myin-v vention I do not limit myself to the precise details shown, and I therefore use the term draw-bar as comprehending, broadly, any rigid member adapted to connect the motor carriage with the front axle of the vehicle and the term steering-axle as comprehending, broadly, any bearing for the wheel or wheels whereby the motor-carriage is steered. So, also, under the term controlling member, whether used in connection with the steeringwheels or motor mechanism, I desire to comprehend any device whereby the essential movements of the parts may be effected.

I claim-- 1. The combination of a vehicle-body; a rear axle, a front axle pivotally connected with said body; wheels for said axles respectively a motor-driven carriage; a rearwardly* projecting trail connected with said motorcarriage; a steering axle and wheel carried by said trail and pivoted to turn in a horizontal plane; a draw-bar; means for attachingsaid draw-bar to the front axle of the vehicle; a pivotal connection between said draw-bar and said motor-carriage; a controlling member for said steering-axle; and a controlling member for the motor mechanism; said controlling members respectively being operable from the carriage-body, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a vehicle-body; a rear axle; a front axle pivotally connected with said body; wheels for saidaxles respectively; a motor-driven carriage; a steering axle and wheel for said motor-carriage; a pivotal connection between said motor-carriage and said steering-axle, whereby said axle is permitted to rotate in a horizontal plane independently of said motor-carriage;

a controlling member operable from the vehicle-body for shifting said steering-axle in a horizontal plane; a draw-bar; means for attaching said draw-bar to the front axle of the vehicle; a pivotal connection between said draw-bar and said motor-carriage whereby said bar is permitted to turn relatively to said carriage in a horizontal plane, said pivotal connection of the draw-bar being independent of the pivotal connection for the steeringwheel; and a controlling member operative upon the motor mechanism and operable from the vehicle-body, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a vehicle-body; a

rear axle; a front axle pivotally connected;

with said body; wheels for said axles respectively; a motor-driven carriage; a trail projecting rearwardly from said motor-carriage and comprising two exterior converging arms and an intermediate arm; a vertical bearing mounted at the rear end of the trail; a Vertical pivot-stem rotatably mounted in said bearing; a steering-axle connected at its cen tral portion with said stem; a pair of steer tug-wheels carried by said axle a controlling member operable from the vehicle-body and connected with said stem, wherebysaid steering-axle may be turned in a horizontal plane;

a draw-bar; means for attaching said drawbar to the front axle of the vehicle; a pivotal of said stem being of angular cross section;

a steering-axle; a pair of steering wheels; a

vertical stem connected with the central por tion of said steering-axle and having a crosssection conforming to that of the cavity of the pivot-stem; a transverse supporting-bar mounted upon said pivot-stem; springs in terposed between said supporting-bar and said steering-axle; a controlling member 0perable from the vehicle-body, whereby said pivot-stem may be turned upon a vertical axis; a draw-bar; means for attaching said draw-bar to the front axle of the vehicle; a pivotal connection, such as a fifth-Wheel, between said draw-bar and said motor-carriage and a controlling member operable from the vehicle-body and operative upon the motor mechanism, substantially as described.

RUSSELL THAYER.

Witnesses: 7

JAMES H. BELL, E. REESE. 

